One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
Today's title may be an outdated cliche, but it happens to sum up how I've been feeling about the regular season so far for the Houston Astros. More specifically, how it all relates to your people's champion and mine, Evan Gattis.
First, the step forward. The spacemen laid quite the smack down on the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field last night, posting a 10-5 victory and a 2 out of 3 series win from their divisional rival. They now head to Oakland to start a 3 game set with the Athletics, yet another divisional rival. They'll be seeing the green guys for the first time this season, and unexpectedly, they are playing really good baseball right now. It won't be an easy feat, but I have a lot of confidence that the Astros can get it done.
Despite this progress, there has also been a particular setback that is keeping me up at night and even causing me physical discomfort. This is where the two steps back for El Oso Blanco comes in. It's no secret that the Astros have one of the deepest lineups in the league. I also make every effort to try and understand and support the decisions skipper A.J. Hinch and the management make on a daily basis.
However, when a player comes up in a pinch and hits a bases clearing 3 RBI double to help win the game, and is posting a .316 average and .879 OPS in only 19 at-bats, maybe we should consider putting him in the lineup the next day?
Well, most managers would have done that in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, not Hinch. He opted to, once again, put in Carlos Beltran to DH against the likes of Yovani Gallardo, whom he's batted only .182 against lifetime before yesterday. How well has Gattis done against him? .333 average lifetime in 12 at-bats across two different teams and leagues.
Sure enough, everyone on social media has been quick to pounce on me for merely venting my frustrations. Calling me things like childish, ignorant, and obsessed. You know, the usual suspects among put downs. You would think I would be used to such things by now, and I should have some sort of magical immunity against this kind of slander. But in reality, it causes me a lot more physical and mental anguish than most people out there, including my own support system, seem to care to realize.
It's already torturous enough having to live in Fort Worth among Texas Rangers fans. But to have to try extra harder to make my voice heard among the CDH (Critics, Doubters, Haters) crowd spewing nonsense and coming out of the very same Astros fan base that should be supporting ALL of its players is something completely worse. To have no one take you seriously, pretend to sympathize, or use labels like your own sexual orientation to try and discredit you is the type of personal hell that I go through on a daily basis that I would not even wish on my worse enemy.
But let's focus back on Gattis now. He is one of the most hardest working men in all of Major League Baseball, let alone one of the hardest working ones on this Astros team. He has led this club in home runs for the past two seasons since he's been here. He is an instant fan favorite that knows how to treat crowds, the media, his team and coaches. He has gotten off to, as the numbers would tell you, his best start since his rookie season back in 2013 with the Atlanta Braves.
Yet for all of this, it's HIM that still seems to have to fight for playing time. It's HIM that always has to take a back seat to the youngsters, or even other veterans. It's HIM that always has to have his time decreased, essentially disqualifying him from any and all possible MLB awards, such as the Silver Slugger, which he should have by now. It's HIM that always has to be at a disadvantage when it comes to the All-Star game and Home Run Derby selections, more ceremonies and games that he should have been in already being that he is currently in his 5th season.
I've said it so much, and will say it again. Evan Gattis is a genuine article! He is an impact perennial bat in this lineup. He is someone that deserves to be a starter. Someone that has proven time and again just how valuable he is, and is waiting patiently, more so than I am, for some club to actually take him seriously as a ball player. It's a wonder that those that work for him, his agents or publicists, aren't doing more to be assertive in getting the things that Evan really needs and deserves from a ball club.
Do they, like Hinch and the Astros management, only see him as a second fiddle or an after thought? Have none of them the kind of fire in their bellies needed to be in sports management? Perhaps some of them can take a cue from me and this very blog as to what it takes to really make your client happy, and in turn, save your credit and reputations among the sports world. Being aggressive is often necessary. El Oso Blanco should not have to go the way of Marwin Gonzalez, a player with clear talent that barely gets used at all.
Anyone that knows me well enough knows that I am one to usually debunk conspiracy theories. But in this particular situation, I have come up with one of my own. Here goes:
Connect the dots, ladies and gentlemen, and tell me that this doesn't strike you as even the least bit odd? Beltran has played in every game but one, while Gattis has had to sit on the bench for almost half of them? I'm not one to try and discredit anyone in the Houston Astros organization, but I feel that this is a collection of truths that should be explored.
The biggest thing I keep hearing from people is for me to "calm down" and "it's only 10 games into the season." What these folks fail to realize is that I cannot let my guard down for one minute. Gattis playing his best baseball right now is only going to turn into Jeff Lunhow and company using him as trade bait to a non-contending team for an ace of a starting pitcher. This will lead to Evan having to start working his way from the ground up again. And I REFUSE TO SIT BY AND LET THAT HAPPEN!!!!
So yes folks, I will continue to make my assertions known. Through any means necessary, and with as much media power as I can muster, I will continue calling out this Houston Astros organization when they make clear mistakes that they seem to not care about. Being assertive does not equate to bitching, by the way! If no one else is gonna look out for Evan Gattis they way he is supposed to be looked out for, then damn it, I'M GOING TO TAKE IT UPON MYSELF TO DO IT!!!!
Holding the powerful accountable should not just be for politicians anymore. And this whole lineup situation wreaks of internal politics going on here. It should be for any and all decision makers across the board. Sports, entertainment, religion, it does not matter. Everyone, including us fans of baseball, deserve to have a voice and stand up for our players. It certainly doesn't make me less than any other fan, or ignorant/oblivious to the reality of the situation.
For me, I stand up for every last one of the players on this team. But the one that I have always and will always continue to stand up for the most just happens to be Evan Gattis. Let's be honest, someone out there needs to!
First, the step forward. The spacemen laid quite the smack down on the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field last night, posting a 10-5 victory and a 2 out of 3 series win from their divisional rival. They now head to Oakland to start a 3 game set with the Athletics, yet another divisional rival. They'll be seeing the green guys for the first time this season, and unexpectedly, they are playing really good baseball right now. It won't be an easy feat, but I have a lot of confidence that the Astros can get it done.
Despite this progress, there has also been a particular setback that is keeping me up at night and even causing me physical discomfort. This is where the two steps back for El Oso Blanco comes in. It's no secret that the Astros have one of the deepest lineups in the league. I also make every effort to try and understand and support the decisions skipper A.J. Hinch and the management make on a daily basis.
However, when a player comes up in a pinch and hits a bases clearing 3 RBI double to help win the game, and is posting a .316 average and .879 OPS in only 19 at-bats, maybe we should consider putting him in the lineup the next day?
Well, most managers would have done that in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, not Hinch. He opted to, once again, put in Carlos Beltran to DH against the likes of Yovani Gallardo, whom he's batted only .182 against lifetime before yesterday. How well has Gattis done against him? .333 average lifetime in 12 at-bats across two different teams and leagues.
Sure enough, everyone on social media has been quick to pounce on me for merely venting my frustrations. Calling me things like childish, ignorant, and obsessed. You know, the usual suspects among put downs. You would think I would be used to such things by now, and I should have some sort of magical immunity against this kind of slander. But in reality, it causes me a lot more physical and mental anguish than most people out there, including my own support system, seem to care to realize.
It's already torturous enough having to live in Fort Worth among Texas Rangers fans. But to have to try extra harder to make my voice heard among the CDH (Critics, Doubters, Haters) crowd spewing nonsense and coming out of the very same Astros fan base that should be supporting ALL of its players is something completely worse. To have no one take you seriously, pretend to sympathize, or use labels like your own sexual orientation to try and discredit you is the type of personal hell that I go through on a daily basis that I would not even wish on my worse enemy.
But let's focus back on Gattis now. He is one of the most hardest working men in all of Major League Baseball, let alone one of the hardest working ones on this Astros team. He has led this club in home runs for the past two seasons since he's been here. He is an instant fan favorite that knows how to treat crowds, the media, his team and coaches. He has gotten off to, as the numbers would tell you, his best start since his rookie season back in 2013 with the Atlanta Braves.
Yet for all of this, it's HIM that still seems to have to fight for playing time. It's HIM that always has to take a back seat to the youngsters, or even other veterans. It's HIM that always has to have his time decreased, essentially disqualifying him from any and all possible MLB awards, such as the Silver Slugger, which he should have by now. It's HIM that always has to be at a disadvantage when it comes to the All-Star game and Home Run Derby selections, more ceremonies and games that he should have been in already being that he is currently in his 5th season.
I've said it so much, and will say it again. Evan Gattis is a genuine article! He is an impact perennial bat in this lineup. He is someone that deserves to be a starter. Someone that has proven time and again just how valuable he is, and is waiting patiently, more so than I am, for some club to actually take him seriously as a ball player. It's a wonder that those that work for him, his agents or publicists, aren't doing more to be assertive in getting the things that Evan really needs and deserves from a ball club.
Do they, like Hinch and the Astros management, only see him as a second fiddle or an after thought? Have none of them the kind of fire in their bellies needed to be in sports management? Perhaps some of them can take a cue from me and this very blog as to what it takes to really make your client happy, and in turn, save your credit and reputations among the sports world. Being aggressive is often necessary. El Oso Blanco should not have to go the way of Marwin Gonzalez, a player with clear talent that barely gets used at all.
Anyone that knows me well enough knows that I am one to usually debunk conspiracy theories. But in this particular situation, I have come up with one of my own. Here goes:
- Alex Cora, the bench coach, was also GM for the World Baseball Classic for the Puerto Rico team.
- Carlos Beltran was DH on that team as well.
- A.J. Hinch was once a former teammate of Beltran's back in Kansas City.
Connect the dots, ladies and gentlemen, and tell me that this doesn't strike you as even the least bit odd? Beltran has played in every game but one, while Gattis has had to sit on the bench for almost half of them? I'm not one to try and discredit anyone in the Houston Astros organization, but I feel that this is a collection of truths that should be explored.
The biggest thing I keep hearing from people is for me to "calm down" and "it's only 10 games into the season." What these folks fail to realize is that I cannot let my guard down for one minute. Gattis playing his best baseball right now is only going to turn into Jeff Lunhow and company using him as trade bait to a non-contending team for an ace of a starting pitcher. This will lead to Evan having to start working his way from the ground up again. And I REFUSE TO SIT BY AND LET THAT HAPPEN!!!!
So yes folks, I will continue to make my assertions known. Through any means necessary, and with as much media power as I can muster, I will continue calling out this Houston Astros organization when they make clear mistakes that they seem to not care about. Being assertive does not equate to bitching, by the way! If no one else is gonna look out for Evan Gattis they way he is supposed to be looked out for, then damn it, I'M GOING TO TAKE IT UPON MYSELF TO DO IT!!!!
Holding the powerful accountable should not just be for politicians anymore. And this whole lineup situation wreaks of internal politics going on here. It should be for any and all decision makers across the board. Sports, entertainment, religion, it does not matter. Everyone, including us fans of baseball, deserve to have a voice and stand up for our players. It certainly doesn't make me less than any other fan, or ignorant/oblivious to the reality of the situation.
For me, I stand up for every last one of the players on this team. But the one that I have always and will always continue to stand up for the most just happens to be Evan Gattis. Let's be honest, someone out there needs to!
Original Photo Credit: Stephen Brashear of Getty Images
Neither Evan Gattis nor the fans should have to be put through the kind of anguish that is clearly showing on Evan's face in this pic. Astros Organzation, DO THE RIGHT THING HERE!!!!
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